Articulated car



June 28, 1932- v. wlLLouGHBY ARTICULATED CARA Filed Deo. 9, 1930 l 1, and

Patented June 28, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VICTOR WILLOUGHBY, F RIDGEWOOD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR T0 .AMERICANv CAR AN D FOUNDRY COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY ARTICULATED CAR Application led December 9, 1930.. Serial No. 501,019. y

illustrated, andit is to-be understood that This invention` relates to articulated cars of the type in whicha single truck, known in the art as. a pivot truckis arranged beneath and supports the adj acentend portions of two car bodies.. f

One objectof this invention is the provision of an articulatedcar in which the, adjacentV end portions off twocar bodies are arranged in vsubstantially abutting relation whereby to transmit bnffing shocks from one body to, tlie;other; the. adjacent end portions having means' arranged therein for preventing excess sidewise. and vertical shifting of the bodies'. Y Y

Another object of this 'invention is the provision of an articulated car having a plurality of ycar bodies thel adjacent end portions of which are arranged in substantially abutting relation and which aresupportedrespectively by truck bolsters.

A further object of this invention isthe provision of anv articulated car" comprising a plurality of car bodies, and a truck forsupporting the adjacent end portions of said bodies, said truck being provided with' a pair of independentlyv functioning holsters, one eachV forsupporting` la carbody end portion.

A still` further object of this invention is the provision of anew and improved body center casting- `forl an articulated car.

Uther obj ects andY advantagesv of this invention will be apparentfroni the following description'taken in conjhunctionwith the accompanying drawing ink which:

Fig. 1 is atop plan view of the-invention, thev view showing a portion of onev car body and having certain parts broken' away 'and other parts shown ink section;

Fig. 2`is' a sectional. view showing the articulated joint of the present invention.

Fig. 3 isa view taken onf the line 3--3, Fig.

Fig. 4Y is' a' fragmentary sectional view showing thev mounting; for the foot plate used with the present invention.

In the drawingav complete truck is not shownj as the specific construction thereof forms no part of theipresent invention. Only such partsof the truck as are necessaryto an understanding of. this invention have been these. parts. may be associated with ak car truck having any preferred or desired forni. Referring now more particularly to the drawing, in which similar characters of. reference designate similar parts in the several views, the present invention provides for` articulating a plurality of car bodies, a` portion of one thereof being indicated generally at A,

but inasmuch. as the specificconstruction of the bodies is not a part of the present'invention asidefrom those parts specifically illustrated and: described hereinafter, the same is not shown in detail. The bodies ofcourse are provided with a suitableunderframe and in the instance shownthe underframe includes spaced channels 2 forming centery sills between which are arranged body center castings 4. Said castings are preferably connected to the channels-2 by suitable fasteners f such as rivets or the like, and their forward ends project beyond the ends yof the car bodies.

The body center castings each comprises a body portion having atop surface 6, bottom.

8,"side walls anda front wall 12; the castingsV being hollow and reinforced by suitable stiffening ribsv 14.

` The front wall 12 of thel casting tapers fromthe side walls towardthe longitudinal center linek of. the castingto define a buing area 16 and. as can be seen in Figs. lland 2, the areas 16, whenthe'bodies are assembled, are closely adjacent eachother whereby buffing shocks may be transmitted from one Lbody.

tothe, other. Y v Y Formed with and depending from they forward ends of castings 4 are body center bearings 18 which are substantially cylindrical in shape andare provided with concentric recesses 20L The body center bearings extend ed body and truck center bearings. It is further apparent that pulling stresses are transmitted from the bodies to the truck through the connected body center bearings and truck center plates. It is necessary however to provide for preventing excessive relative horizontal and vertical shiftingof the car bodies and still permit a certain amount thereof in accordance with variations in track structure. To this end, the extreme forward ends of the castings are provided withv horizontally arranged recesses 28 which Valign when the bodies are assembled and which receive a restraining element 30 in the form of a baror the like, apertured adjacent each end ,as at 32. For retaining the bar in position pins 34 are vprovided which extendthrough the ends of the castings 4 and through the bar and the projections 26 and into the upper walls 36 of the bolsters. As shown in Fig. 2, the apertures 32 in the bar 30 are large compared to the pins 34 to permit a certain amount of looseness and thus obtain the necessary exibility of parts. To permit the required relative swiveling of the car bodies the recesses 28 gradually increase in Width from the rear thereof to the ends of thev castings. Such arrangement, it will be apparent,

permits a certain amount of relative sidewise shifting of the bodies but prevents excessive nrelative sidewise shifting.

Due to breaks in track grades it is necessary 5to permit some vertical shiftingof the bodies and to this end the depth of the recesses 28 varies as shown clearly in Fig. 2;.the depth at thel extreme forward end of the castings being the greatest. This will permit a sucient relative vertical shifting of the bodies but obviously will prevent excessive relative vertical shifting. The bar 30, it is to be understood is not designed to transmit pulling stresses from one body to the other and hence is not a draw bar nor the equivalent thereof. The function of the bar 30 is to prevent excessive relative vertical and sidewise shifting and necessarily the bar must be relatively loose in the aligned recesses 28.

j The adjacent end port-ions of the car bodies are provided with door openings (not shown) and to permit passengers to pass from one body to the other foot plate `38 is provided `which bridges the spacebetween the adjacent end portions of the bodies; the ends of said foot plate underlying arcuate shaped threshold castings 40 securedto the bodies.

The foot plate 38 is supported in a fixed position relative to the bodies. In other words,

` swiveling of the bodies is relative to the 'foot plate. The foot platel is supported by the bolsters 24 and as shown in Fig. 4 the bolsters 24 are each provided with a pair of brackets 42 which support springs 44 on which the foot plateY is mounted; the latter being held j .65.7 against the tension of the springs by bolts 46 which extend through the brackets 42 and foot plate 38 and are secured in position by nuts 48.

From the above description it is believed that the construction shown in the drawing will be fully understood by those skilled in the art. In operation the bodies swivel independently of each otherv due to the connected body and truck center bearings; the adjacent end portions of the car bodies each having one bolster assigned thereto. To disassemble the construction shown, the pins 34 or either thereof' are removed whereupon the adjacent end portions of the car bodies may be elevated a suliicie-nt amount to free the body center bearings from the truck center plates and then the truck may be removed or either body removed from the truck.

The drawing illustrates one embodiment of the invention but it is to be understood that they are Jfor illustrative purposes only and various changes in the form and proportions of the construction may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a plurality of car bodies `having their adjacent end portions arranged relatively close together, the adjacent end portions of said bodies being provided with recesses, a truck for supporting the adjacent end portions of said bodies, a pair of truck end portions of said bodies, said truck being vprovided with a pair of bolsters and a pair of center plates, body center bearings depending from the forward ends of said body center castings engaged respectively with the 'truck center plates.

3. In an articulated car, a plurality of car bodies, body center castings secured to the adjacent end portions of said bodies and arranged in substantially abutting relation whereby to transmit buing shocks from one body to the other, a truck for supporting the adjacent end portions of said bodies, a pair of bolsters for the truck, center plates carried by the bolsters and with which the body center bearings are respectively engaged, whereby pulling stresses are transmitted from the bodies tothe truck, and a bar loosely retained in the adjacent end portions ofthe body centercastings for preventing excessive relative sidewise and vertical shifting of the bodies.

4. An articulated car comprising a plurality of car bodies, body center bearings depending from the adjacent end portions of said bodies, a truck for supporting the adj acent end portions of said bodies having a pair of independent bolsters arranged side by side in relatively close relation, a center plate carried by each bolster and with which the body center bearings are respectively engaged whereby to transmit pulling `stresses from the bodies to the truck, a. bar extending between and arranged in the adj acentend portions of the bodies for preventing excessive relative sidewise and vertical shifting of the bodies, and pins extending thru the end portions of the bodies and thru the bar into the truck center plates for retaining the bar in position.

5. In an articulated car, a plurality of car bodies having their adjacent end portions arranged in substantially abutting relation to transmit but'ing shocks from one body to the other, a truck for supporting the adjacent end portions ofsaid bodies, a pair of holsters for the truck, each having a center plate, body center bearings engaged respectively with the truck cent-er bearings, and a restraining element extending between and loosely arranged in the end portions of the bodies for preventing excessive relative vertical and sidewise shifting of the bodies.

6. A body center casting comprising a body portion having its forward end reduced to define a buiiing area, said forward end being provided with a horizontally arranged recess which increases in width from' the rear thereof to the forward end of the casting, and a center bearing depending from and arranged immediately beneath the builing area.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

VICTOR WILLOUGHBY. 

